Associated Banc Corp Makes New Investment in Visa Inc. $V

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp initiated a Visa position, purchasing 13,107 shares in the third quarter, valued at approximately $4.71 million.
• Visa beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $3.48 and revenue of $12.14 billion, up 13.2% year over year.
• Visa raised its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.78 per share, an increase of more than 16%; analysts maintained a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating.

Associated Banc Corp bought a new stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,107 shares of the credit-card processor's stock, valued at approximately $4,710,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of V. Putney Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Visa by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 4,997 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,796,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Visa by 1.2% in the third quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,358 shares of the credit-card processor's stock valued at $3,722,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its holdings in Visa by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 28,999 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $10,420,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Advisory Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 27.3% during the third quarter. Integrity Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 5,005 shares of the credit-card processor's stock worth $1,799,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Visa in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 5,875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.87, for a total transaction of $2,161,236.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,582,059.38. This represents a 27.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,028 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.35, for a total value of $773,377.80. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 18,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,018,365.40. This trade represents a 9.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 27,395 shares of company stock worth $10,406,050 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Visa Price Performance

Shares of V stock opened at $436.21 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $778.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $384.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $343.74. Visa Inc. has a twelve month low of $293.89 and a twelve month high of $436.76.

Visa (NYSE:V - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit-card processor reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.09 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 70.50% and a net margin of 51.20%. Visa's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 15.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Visa's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Visa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

V has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up from $410.00) on shares of Visa in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial set a $443.00 price target on Visa and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Visa from $396.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Visa from $420.00 to $438.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Visa from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirty-five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Visa currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $440.03.

Key Stories Impacting Visa

Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verifone has deployed Visa’s Featurespace fraud-screening technology across its payment gateways. The system assesses transactions in real time across in-store, online and mobile channels, giving Visa another opportunity to expand its fraud-prevention services; the announcements did not disclose the financial size of the deal. Article: Verifone Turns to Visa’s Featurespace to Combat Fraud
• Positive Sentiment: Visa raised its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.78 per share, an increase of more than 16%. The hike signals confidence in cash generation and adds to shareholder returns, although the yield is still relatively low. Article: Visa Just Hiked Its Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Visa’s latest reported quarter beat analyst expectations for earnings and revenue, with revenue up 13.2% year over year. That performance offers support for the growth outlook behind the dividend increase. Article: Will Earnings Beat Change Visa Stock’s Narrative
• Neutral Sentiment: Former Visa chairman and CEO Joseph Saunders, who led the company through its IPO, has died. The report is a tribute to his legacy and does not indicate an effect on Visa’s current operations. Article: Former Visa CEO Joseph Saunders Dies
• Negative Sentiment: A recent article cautioned investors about buying after Visa’s strong share-price run, noting the relatively low dividend yield. Separately, CEO Ryan McInerney sold 5,875 shares; the transaction was made under a pre-arranged trading plan, which tempers its significance as an outlook signal. Article: Visa Just Hiked Its Dividend Visa insider-trading report

About Visa

Visa Inc NYSE: V is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic payments between consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments. Through its VisaNet network, the company authorizes, clears and settles transactions made with Visa-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, while generally not issuing cards, extending credit or setting cardholder account terms.

Visa provides payment products and services for consumer, commercial and government payments, as well as digital commerce and money movement.

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